'parthenogenesis' definitions:
Definition of 'parthenogenesis'
From: WordNet
noun
Human conception without fertilization by a man [syn: parthenogenesis, parthenogeny, virgin birth]
noun
Process in which an unfertilized egg develops into a new individual; common among insects and some other arthropods [syn: parthenogenesis, parthenogeny]
Definition of 'parthenogenesis'
From: GCIDE
- parthenogenesis \par`the*no*gen"e*sis\ (p[aum]r`th[-e]*n[-o]*j[e^]n"[-e]*s[i^]s), n. [Gr. parqe`nos a virgin + E. genesis.]
- 1. (Biol.) The production of new individuals from virgin females by means of ova which have the power of developing without the intervention of the male element; the production, without fertilization, of cells capable of germination. It is one of the phenomena of alternate generation. Cf. Heterogamy, and Metagenesis. [1913 Webster]
- 2. (Bot.) The production of seed without fertilization, believed to occur through the nonsexual formation of an embryo extraneous to the embryonic vesicle. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'parthenogenesis'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- abiogenesis,
- archigenesis,
- biogenesis,
- birth,
- blastogenesis,
- development,
- digenesis,
- epigenesis,
- eumerogenesis,
- generation,
- genesis,
- heterogenesis,
- histogenesis,
- homogenesis,
- isogenesis,
- merogenesis,
- metagenesis,
- monogenesis,
- orthogenesis,
- pangenesis,
- procreation,
- spontaneous generation